A Different Sort of Day
by ephemeral PLEASURES
Summary: Based off of pictures from Salty Dogs VI, Konzen and Goku enjoy a moments peace, while Kenren takes advantage of an unusual sight. Light fluff for my own good. Hope others enjoy though.


On any given day in the chaotic world known as Heaven, one would find busy people doing busy things, almost forgetting to breathe in the rush. The soldiers would be training, the civilians would be going about their lives, and the gods would be hard at working doing whatever gods might do. Konzen, for instance, a god known his ill-tempered demeanor, would be in his room, reading and signing the endless amount of documents that had accumulated on his desk. Kenren, General to the Western army, would be training the new recruits who barely knew up from down. Goku, a powerful entity entrapped by the body of a boy, would secretly be causing trouble by climbing the Sakura trees in the courtyard. And Tenpou, a man lost in a sea of words, would be pouring over a book, barely involved in the buzz of the world around him. This was typical; this was what could be found on any given day. However, this was not such a day. Today was one of a kind.

"Oi, saru, don't make a mess," ordered the ever-grouchy Konzen as he gazed over a piece of paper. Behind his mahogany desk, the man balanced on the back two legs of his chair, rocking slightly. When there was an unexpected silence that followed his command, Konzen drew his attention away from reading to speak again. "Goku, did you hear me?" A faint breeze from the open window rustled the papers. Now thoroughly confused, Konzen lowered his chair and peeked over the desk. There, sprawled out on the floor, was a small body. Goku's breathing was slow, the chain around his neck jingling with each exhale. Konzen sighed as he placed the document he'd been eyeing down on his desk, and slipped out of his seat. Before even take a proper step, Konzen noticed the parchment that lay innocently beneath his foot. He arched a quizzical eyebrow before bending down to pick it up. "Is this supposed to be me?"

A small smiled tugged at the man's lips as he surveyed the crudely drawn portrait. Apparently, Goku had taken up coloring. Behind the yellow strings (Konzen could only assume to be hair), there was a faint layer of text. He squinted. "What is that?" He flipped the drawing over to find the schedule for the up coming banquet. With a scoff, Konzen could only roll his eyes. "Great. How am I going to explain this to the others, hm?"

He looked on the ground, not surprised to see other important documents ruined by the child's creativity. Each piece of paper depicted a new scene: Kenren hitting a baseball, Tenpou with a book, Nataku playing in a field. They were all nothing more than scribbles on a page, but worth more than words. Konzen had lain down on the ground near the monkey child, half-smiling at the drawings. Goku remained asleep atop his most recent piece of artwork. Konzen peeked at the paper, only able to see half of the whole, and tried to make out what it was. There were two characters, one shorter than the other, holding hands happily. And though the boy's head obstructed the heads of the figures, Konzen could only imagine the huge smiles on their faces. "If only everyone could see things through eyes…"

Folding a picture of Kenren and Tenpou into a paper plane, Konzen released the aircraft as the wind picked up. It soared, looking back to see the blond on his back, eyes closed, relaxing beside the slumbering child. For the moment, there was calm. For the moment, the busy world seemed to halt. For a moment, there was a peaceful happiness.

"Goddamn, how is there _more_?" The cigarette clung to the General's lips as he moaned. He bent down, once again, to relocate a large pile of books. His superior, the Marshall, was draped across the couch in the middle of the room, not noticing the complaints of his underling.

Had this been a typical day, Tenpou would not have been there, with Kenren. Perhaps he'd have been in his room alone, rereading the account of the Crusades, or the compilation of Shakespeare's sonnets. As for Kenren, however, the man would have been too busy socializing with the soldiers and indulging himself in an afternoon drink to be there cleaning the Field Marshall's room. Yet, seeing as this was not a typical day, Kenren was there, grunting as he reorganized the endless supply of books and scrolls. He'd been there since the morning, whining each step of the way. And for each grievance, Tenpou would smile. It was a deceiving smile, known to many, often meaning many things at once but disguised as nothing. Today, Tenpou had flashed his "Your-pain-is-my-amusement" grin.

So, as Kenren finished his restocking and turned back to the other, he readied himself for the charming yet teasing smirk that awaited him. Surprisingly, there was none. More surprising was the paper airplane that had just flown in from the open window. Kenren stood near the shelf for a moment, focusing on the paper plane that had landed at his feet. Once in his hand, he unfolded it as if it was a puzzle, anticipating what he'd find. "What? This looks like Konzen's handwriting. What shit is he trying to pull?" About to crumple the paper and toss it back out the window from which it came, Kenren paused when he noticed what seemed to be something on the back.

It was all he could do from snorting loudly as he finally deciphered exactly what was drawn. It was them, him, and Tenpou. Smirking to himself, Kenren assumed that this was not in fact Knozen's doing, but the midget's. He stared for a moment longer, before calling to the Marshall, who was being surprisingly quiet; "Hey, Tenpou, look what the monkey's drawn for us! It looks just like you—" Silenced by the sight, Kenren hovered in front of the couch and the sleeping figure. Tenpou's chest rose and fell with each breath, a book resting on his torso. The glasses he often wore on the bridge of his nose, were pushed down to the tip. Half tempted to stare at the Marshall forever, Kenren folded the drawing he'd been holding, and placed it in his back pocket. "Ya know, like this, you almost seem like a sleeping beauty."

Kenren was hardly prince charming, but in the glow of the afternoon sun, on this peculiar day, he played the part by kissing his sleeping beauty. It tasted of ash, and lasted no more than a few seconds. Tenpou exhaled without waking. "Heh, true love's kiss my ass," Kenren muttered as he situated himself on the arm of the couch. He extracted another cigarette and held it loosely. Had this been an actual fairytale, then this moment would be the happily ever after.


End file.
